Jack Nicklaus And Tiger Woods - "The Best Of The Best"

I mentioned Jack first, or should I say, Mr. Nicklaus in the title because alphabetically and historically I think he deserves that courtesy, but they both should be credited with phenomenal accomplishments for their time in Golf History. I grew up with Jack for my golf hero just as I had Mickey Mantle as my baseball idol in my formative years. I have admired many ball players since but no one can take the place of Mantle in my book.

There have been many great players both in his era and subsequently that may have even been historically and statistically better than he, but he still remains an all time favorite to me. As far as I am concerned, Mantle was the best and will always be the best, case closed. The same goes for Jack Nicklaus, he will always be number 1 in my book. Eighteen Majors and No one beside Tiger can even come close. Need I say more. Tiger is a phenom, no two ways about it and it would have been a heck of a battle to see Tiger and Jack go head to head in their primes. It would be like Mohammed Ali vs. Rocky Marciano - who was really the best ? We'll never know for sure on either count but our minds can play it out and choose who we think would come out on top.

I'm a big Tiger fan also and Phil Mickelson is not far behind, but watching Jack's duels with Mr. Arnold Palmer, and I mention his name with all the respect it deserves, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf was incomparable to the modern day era of golf, at least in my book. I don't mean to take anything away from the modern day PGA Pro - Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and more than a few handfuls of other players, including Fred Couples and Davis Love 111, whose ability with a golf club would most likely allow them to be competitive in any era, are all great players, it's just not the same game to me. Through no fault of their own, the equipment and golf ball technology and advancement accessible for the modern day professional has made golf a different game than it was 20 years or more ago. I was a youngster at the time other golfing greats before like Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, BobbyJones ( actually a little before my time - I don't want to pre-date myself ), Cary Middlecoff and the like were around but I can still watch some of their duels on "Shells Wonderful World Of Golf" and I would have loved to see them compete in the modern day era. These guys used wooden clubs and inferior golf balls and were still striping 250 to 280 yd. drives down the middle and shaping shots like it was second nature to them. My favorite is the duel between Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan at Pine Valley, New Jersey( rated # 1 course in the world )- I'll leave it to your imagination to figure out who the winner was but BH were his initials. When I was following Jack or should I say Mr. Nicklaus in my youth, I never imagined that anyone could ever match his record let alone beat it. His last Victory at the 86' Masters was the clincher. It is still fresh in my mind as if it were just played a short time ago. So many golfing greats had phenomenal records in their careers, (Arnold, Gary, Tom, Ben, Sam, Byron, Bobby and the rest) but he was well ahead of the pack.

Tiger has shown the world what the "Power Of The Mind Or Thought Can Do" just as Jack Nicklaus most likely did in his day. They are two players that were gifted with the ability to excel above the rest. Tigers' dad Earl helped him establish early in his childhood, that if he wanted to be the best, to set that goal in his sights and contemplate on it every day and visualize himself accomplishing that goal. It is public knowledge that Tiger had his mindset on Jack Nicklaus' record at a very early age. It was an unreachable goal for most because they would not let themselves believe that it was possible, but not for Tiger and that's what makes him stand out among the rest.

It is inevitable that Tiger will beat Jack's record, as long as he remains healthy, and I wish him well on his quest. After all, records are made to be broken. He is a remarkable player and I would like nothing more than to see him in action one day. My ideal foursome would be Mr. Nicklaus,Mr. Palmer, Tiger ( I can say Tiger because he is more than a few years younger than I )and naturally myself. What a day it would be. I can hit the ball fairly well and I always wondered how I would fare against the best. In my younger days at Marine Park or Marine Dunes Golf Course in Brooklyn I hit the ball well and Par 4's and 5's were usually within reach on my second shot, depending on wind conditions. I know it may never happen but I can Dream, can't I ? You never know. No one can stop you from dreaming. So, whatever your goals in life may be, whether it's be to beat Jack or Tigers record, Jordan or Kobe in Basketball, Marciano, Ali or Roy Jones in boxing, Montana, Marino or Brady in football ( I had to mention some players from the modern era or I really would be dating myself ), or any other ideal, goal or person in a livelihood that you idolize don't ever give up - Take a tip from Nike - "Just Do It" and remember, Anything is possible if you want it enough!

I grew up in Canarsie, Brooklyn and now live in Sayreville, New Jersey. I was always into sports but did not take up golf until I had a severe hamstring injury while playing softball. If not for that injury I may have never played golf, which is the greatest sport ever in my book. Happy Golfing! Visit http://guideforbeginninggolfers.com for more valuable info on golf.